1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing this site, scheduling a briefing, or engaging with any content created by The Grave Guy, you agree to these Terms of Engagement. If you do not agree, please discontinue use of the site and related services.

2. Scope of Investigation

The Grave Guy provides:

• Record Pulls: a defined record or small group of records, with a cited findings summary and an attempted courtesy transcription when appropriate.

• Forensic Reconstructions: focused research on a person, family, property, or place, which may use deeds, maps, historical aerial photographs, handwritten records, and DNA evidence where relevant.

• Deep Investigations: larger projects such as cemetery documentation and recovery research, lost burial grounds, and long-range community history.

• Standalone transcription, grave-marker cleaning, and institutional projects, including WPA-style cemetery inventories and cited reports.

These service levels describe the scope of an investigation; they are not fixed packages. All work is carried out with care, respect, and a commitment to historical accuracy.

Historical reality is unpredictable. Outcomes depend entirely on the survival of records and the condition of the terrain.

3. Intellectual Property (The Evidence)

All blog posts, images, icons, illustrations, and visual assets are the intellectual property of The Grave Guy unless otherwise credited.

You may:

• Share links to blog posts with proper attribution

• Use short excerpts for educational or non-commercial purposes with credit

You may not:

• Reproduce, modify, distribute, or sell any content without written permission

• Use images or icons in commercial projects without a license

4. Fieldwork & Retainer Protocols

Investigations are customized to each client’s goals and may include cemetery visits, archival research, and visual documentation.

• Pricing & Proposals: Fees are quoted for the scope of each case and are not listed on the website. For research, I provide a written proposal by email with the work, deliverables, fee, and payment terms before paid work begins. For grave-marker cleaning, you may submit an inquiry without current photos. I will discuss assessment options with you case by case and explain the scope and fee of any proposed site visit before you decide. I provide a firm written cleaning quote after an adequate review of the marker’s condition and applicable cemetery rules. Your authorization, the required deposit, and any necessary cemetery permission must be in place before cleaning is scheduled. After a Grave Survey submission, an email automatically provides a link to schedule a complimentary 20-minute Case Strategy Briefing on my Google Calendar. Scheduling is optional and not required for every engagement.

• Refund Policy: Retainers, project fees, and grave-marker cleaning deposits become non-refundable once active research, fieldwork, or cleaning begins.

• Nature's Interference: The Grave Guy is not responsible for environmental obstacles—including eroded stones, overgrown terrain, or weather conditions that make a site unsafe to access.

5. Client Evidence & Submissions

You retain ownership of the photos, documents, and other case materials you provide. I will not publish them, your name, or details that could reasonably identify you or your family without your explicit written permission. I may share general, anonymized findings or research methods for educational storytelling when the account cannot reasonably identify the client or family. If you ask me not to use even an anonymized example from your case, I will honor that request.

6. Site Access & Availability

We work to maintain a secure and accessible site, but uninterrupted service cannot be guaranteed. We may update, pause, or remove content at any time.

7. Limitations of the Historical Record

The Grave Guy is not responsible for:

• Errors in public records or third-party data

• Emotional or personal reactions to historical findings

• Technical issues outside our control

All content is provided “as is” for informational and storytelling purposes.

History is often incomplete. We cannot guarantee that a specific record exists or that a grave is marked. We provide the truth as it stands today, not as we wish it to be.

8. Changes to Terms

These Terms may be updated as offerings evolve. Revised Terms will be posted with a new effective date.

9. Contact

For questions or concerns:
terms@thegraveguy.com

www.thegraveguy.com